Rosa Maestro Babylon Eyes - Shrub rose

Rosa Maestro Babylon Eyes seduces with its countless clusters of semi-double, swirling flowers in a pretty fresh pink adorned with a contrasting red-pink heart. Just like its siblings from the astonishing Babylon Eyes series, it is living proof that the queen of flowers still has the power to surprise us. This hybrid is derived, among others, from the mythical Persian rose, with an early, abundant, and perpetual flowering, great robustness, and good natural resistance to rose diseases. The plant tolerates drought well, and its beautiful glossy foliage enhances the flowers. This compact, very pretty rose is suitable for gardens of all sizes and works well in a large pot.

Rosa Maestro Babylon Eyes (IPB046310) descends, among others, from a wild rose discovered in 1784 by the botanist André Michaux in the Zagros Mountains, straddling Iran and Iraq. The unique feature of its bicoloured flowers has since prompted rose breeders to attempt hybridisation with other species and varieties. After years of research and selection, very interesting new cultivars have emerged throughout Europe. 'Maestro Babylon Eyes', launched in 2019, is one of these varieties with exotic charm, still little known. It is an upright, bushy shrub forming a ball no more than 60-70 cm in all directions. Its branches are moderately thorny and adorned with small, fairly dark green, healthy leaves with a slight shine. The flowering starts quite early, in May-June, sometimes as early as March-April in warm climates. It is abundant and regularly renews until September-October, if the soil is not too dry in mid-summer. The semi-open cup-shaped flowers measure 5 to 8 cm in diameter and are loved by bees. Their pink colour remains relatively stable, barely fading over time, unlike many other Babylon Eyes roses. The heart of the flower changes from dark pink to almost red. The plant is leafless in winter.

Exotic, hardy, and drought-tolerant Maestro Babylon Eyes is a rose with many advantages, that will seduce container gardeners or those struggling with dry soil in summer and frozen soil in winter. It can be grown from north to south, in a large border, in a bed, or in a large rockery. Babylon Eyes roses can be mixed with each other and with many other plants such as garden irises, lavenders, cistus, rosemary, and catmints in dry soil. In moister soil, it can be accompanied, for example, by pink or white foxgloves, catmints, or pretty grasses like Muhlenbergia capillaris or Stipa capillata. On the terrace or balcony, it can be surrounded by cineraria maritima, alstroemerias, agapanthus, or carnations for example.

Interplant creation launched in 2016 - The Sweet Babylon Eyes rose was awarded at the 17th International New Roses Competition in Barcelona in 2017 as the most promising new variety.